From what I'm seeing in the mainstream media there are many reasons to worry about the Kavanaugh nomination:-
i) Ford's allegations are given credence by her consistant requests for an FBI inquiry. Pleading for an official investigation is hardly the way to go if your story is bogus.
ii) Although the incident is a difficult-to-adjudicate he said/she said issue, Ford has named Mark Judge as a witness. This is also a strange thing to do if you're making the story up.
iii) Some people suggest that drunken teen antics shouldn't count for much, but as always in modern politics, the cover up can be as problematic as the crime. Kavanaugh is on record as stating that he never went to the party, even though the time and place have not been specified. Unless K lived like a monk at High School, that denial looks suspicious, "I don't know when that party didn't take place, but I wasn't there anyway."
iv) In the closest historical precedent, when Anita Hill made allegations against Clarence Thomas, as a matter of routine an FBI enquiry was immediately set up. Sen Orin Hatch (or was it Grassley?) said at the time, "It was a very right thing to do."
v) Grassley/Trump are refusing to open an investigation into the Kavanaugh/Ford allegation. Trump is quite falsley declaring that "That's not what the FBI do," despite the fact that (see above) it is.
vi) Grassley is refusing to have Mark Judge appear before the Judiciary Committee to tell his version of events under oath. Why?
vii) Despite stalling a previous Supreme Court nomination for ten months, the GOP are now complaining about days, even hours of delay. Grassley is giving Ford a bunch of tight, arbitary deadlines whose motive can only be a desperate rush to judgement rather than an honest investigation.
viii) Mitch McConnell has declared, without caveat, that Kavanaugh will be selected for the Supreme Court. This is not like saying he's innocent until proven guilty, which is a principle I'm sure we can all agree with. It's like saying he will be treated as innocent irrespective of what transpires during the Judicial Committee's questioning.
__________________
"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953
|